O p e n - h eart h



(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheen 2. R. 0.YOUNG. OPEN HEARTH FURNAE.

Patented Feb. 11, 1890,

w1.. -,wmwwmwmw H (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. o. YOUNe OPEN HEARTH PURNACE.

No. 421,220. Patented Feb.l1.,1890.

wn'NEssEs "wim-0R (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4, R. 0. YOUNG.

OPEN HEARTH PURNAGB. 4 No. 421,220. l Patented Feb. lvl, 1890.

' manently impaired.

tlnrrnn @raras nonnnr oroUNG, orv HOMESTEAD,

ASSIGNOR OF ONE-Tirilli;l TO HENRY AIKEN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

oPsN-HEAuTi-i -F-uanfaos.' f

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,220, dated February1 1, 1890. I Application filed'Merch 20, 1889. Serial No. 304,045. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT O. YOUNG, of Homestead, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Open-llearth Fun naees, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact. description, reference being had to the accon'lpanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l showsin vertical longitudinal section a metallurgical furnace of rectangularoutline, the arch or roof of which is provided with my'improvement. Fig.2 is a vertical cross-section on the line II II of Fig. l. Fig, ,3 is aside elevation, partlyin longitudinal scctioinof a round or ellipticalfurnacev provided with my improvement. AFigc ,LL isasectional plan View,the section being on rthe line IV IV of `Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a verticalcrosssection on the line V V of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 isa verticalcross-section onthe line- Vl VI of Fig. 3. y

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts Vin each.

My invention is designed to provide ine-ans tor permitting expansionofthe arches or roofs of `furnaces under the action of the leat'towhichtheyare subjected while in use. When heat is iii'st-applied-to vthefurnace, it causes the masonry to expand, and in order to preventdisplacing or breaking oi' the bricksit is necessary to provide meansfor freely permitting such expansion. Ileretofore thishas been donc inthe use of rectangularfurnaces by easing oif the bolts and allowing thebuckstares to spread as the root" expands; but in thus spreading...thebuck-staves the vertical walls oi the furnace niove with the roof andare drawn out of pluinb,and as it is im possible to replace them inexactly the proper vertical positions when the furnace cools theappearance and strength of the furnace are per- This combined movementof the upright shell or wall structure and roof of the furnace inexpansion and readjustment has been the characteristic of all adjustingdevices heretofore employed in connection with square furnaces and ,inround furnaces. Although it has been the n'aciicc to employ crudeexpediente to permit the cx pansion of the roof independently of the upf right shell or wall structure, moans have never been employed forrestoring the rootto its that it is i lways weakened by cooling,sometimes so much as to fall in.

As distingoished-froin the prior state of the art, my invention consistsin providing means interposed between the upright furnace-shell or wallstructure of the furnace and the end of the arch, whereby the freeexpansion of taken up by the upright shell or wall structure, andwhereby in cooling it may be gradually forced back into its originalcontracted state without disturbing the upright walls of the furnace.from their vertical positions. The speciic means which I prefer toemploy for this purpose consist of a series of set screws or bolts,which bear against the arch, and may be retracted to permit the arch toexpand or projected to force the arch again to its proper position, theonly care necessary to be given to them being .that of a'iyorkman, whowith a wrench loosens the bolts as the heat of the furnace increases andtightens them as the'furnace cools. l

My invention,` broadly considered, not, however, limited specifically tothe use of such screws, since other equivalent mechanical devices-suchas wedges or the like-capable of movement in both directions may besubstituted therefor. 1

Referring now to the iigures on the first 'sheet of the drawings, 2represents the hearth of the furnace; S, the side walls; 4, one of thearches, the heels of which are supported by courses of skonf'backbricks.4 5 and (l are the vertical,buck-staves, which are connected attheir ends by stay-rods and nuts S. These buck-strives form part of theupright shell or wall structure ot the furnace and serve to brace the,brick portion thereof. Between the buck-strives and the heels of thefurnacearch are Iinterposed metal beams 9, on the inner sides of whichare nuts l0, and a series of bolts' l1 pass through the beams and nutsand at their inner ends bear against plates l2 on the outside oftheskewbacka.

In eompleting'the building of the furnace the set-bolts are projectedinwardly, sothat their ends shall 'bear against the plate 9 annioriginal position as the the furnace cools, so

the furnace-arch is permitted and its thrust TOO shall press them firmlyagainst the skewbacks. When the furnace is started in operation 'and thearch spreads under the intl ucnce of the heat, the screws shouldA begradually retracted, so as toy allow free outward movement ot' theendbricks 5 on the side Walls.

The letting` out of the bolts is continued solong as the arch continuesto expand, and asf tion or expansion of the arch may be followed.

.up by the set-bolts without disturbing the side walls or moving, thebuck-staves, and I am therefore enabled to`preser`ve the shape andstrength of the furnace int-act for a long time.

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the application of my improvementtoround -`or elliptical furnaces. I tomary touse buck-staves such as thoseshown in Figs. l and 2. The outer edge or heel of the furnace arch orcrown 4 is supported by a course of the skewback bricks 5, which are seton top of the vertical furnacewall. A metal band 9 (which corresponds infunction to the beams of Figs. lv and 2) encircles the furnace at theplane of the skewback bricks, and I' is supported by being atf tached tothe metal shell in which the furnace is encased.

The bolts ll pass through the band 9 and through'f'nuts l0 on the innerside thereof, and at their inner ends bear againstthe plates l2 on theoutside of the'skewback. The arches ot' the iiucs at tlle ends of thefurnace are arranged in like manner to the arches of the rectangularfurnace shownin Figs. l and 2,

(sec Fig. 6,) the adjusting-bolts passing through metal beams` 9, whichform part` of the wail structure and bearing against the skcwbaclibricks 5 at the heels of the arch. As shown in Fig. (5', these bolts donot bear di- With such furnaces it is not cus- Said band thus forms partof the' upright shell or wall structure of the furnace.`

rcctly on theskewbacks, but upon interposedl L bricks lai.A

The advantages ofnny invention 'will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art. The improvement is simple in construction and'is arches may beso constructed, or-one side only v of one arch -may be provided with thebolts. i

' WVhat l claim is-d l. The combination, vvith ythe furnace-Hchv and theupright shell or wall structure'of the furnace, of interposed adjustingmechanism which bears on the arch and on saidupright shell or wallstructure, said adjusting mechanism being movable to permit of expansionof the arch and on contraction of the arch movable to draw ittcgetherindependently ot' i the side walls,substantially as and for thepurposes described.

2. The combination of thefurnace-walls.

and the brace therefor, 'an arch supported by the walls and movableVthereon at the ends, and adjustingmechanism-such as set-boltsinterposed between the brace and the arch and bearing on the latter,said adjusting' mechanism being1 movable to permit expansion of the archand to compress the same on:

its contraction, substantially as and'tor the purposes described.

3. The combination of the furnace-arch and vits Yside walls, buclcstaveswhich brace the side Walls, a plate or beambetween the buckstaves and-the arch, and set-screws passin ROBERT O. YOUNG. Witnesses:

W. H. CoRBE'rT, Il. L. KIRKWooD.

